Life is make believe, fantasy given form

The Rose Shield – Whitt

The Rose Shield is my current WIP. I’ve introduced a couple characters with a bit of a snippet: Raker (Here) and my main character Catling (Here). Whitt is Catling’s adopted brother. When his search for her fails, this is where he ends up…

A Snippet of Whitt

Whitt crouched at the water’s edge where tangled roots rose in smooth arches, tall and wide as doorways. He’d wrapped his feet and shins in camgras cloth to discourage leeches and protect his skin from curious razorgills. There were fiercer predators in the swamp, though less stealthy and readily avoided.

Sheer veils of fog drifted above the water. He shifted his weight, spear comfortable in his grip and poised to thrust. Though the Kull Sea lay hundreds of leagues south, its tides altered the waterways in Ava-Grea’s swamps no less than the Fangwold snowmelt. Nearly two years after entering the world of the Fenfolk, Whitt navigated the changing landscape with minimal need to drag his raft through the mud.

A pair of reptilian nostrils peeked from the luminescence, two black holes in a sheet of liquid light. Fire-winged blackbirds shrilled warnings through the vaulted branches. Whitt needed to cross the waterway, and the crajek epitomized patience, content to wait a week for a human meal.

With his free hand, he unhooked the snared river rats from his belt. He’d caught the scaled rodents for supper, but at this point, his need to cross the channel outweighed his hunger. Holding the end of the lead, he dipped them in the water not far from his perch and dragged them from side to side. Razorgills surfaced from below and nibbled at the dead flesh. The lethargic crajek sank from sight, a good sign.

He braced himself in the roots, eyes peeled for movement in the channel around the rats. Waterspiders skimmed the surface. The razorgills flashed and fled as the dark shape neared. Whitt licked his lips, steadied, and when the crajek snapped, he rammed the spear’s sharpened point into the rear of the spiked head. The animal whipped around, dislodging the weapon. Jaws still clamped on the rats, it dove, yanking the lead in Whitt’s hand and ripping him from his roost. He splashed into the water up to his knees and froze. The line floated, slack. His spear cocked at his shoulder, he searched for ripples or bubbles, anything to indicate the creature’s location.

At the center of the channel, two wide-set nostrils surfaced, a second larger monster. Whitt retreated a step. The water erupted at his side as a set of jagged teeth gaped and the first crajek leapt at his leg. Whitt slammed the spear into its head. The point scraped over the thick skull and sank through its eye. Splashing backward, he yanked the spear from the body, without any idea where the second creature had gone.

“Foul!” He tripped blindly on the tree’s roots and fell on his ass through an arched gap. His feet flipped out of the water as the second crajek burst from the swamp and clamped its steel jaws on a flailing razorgill. Whitt crabbed backward as the crajek chewed on the spiny fish no more than a foot from his right toes.

Thank you, Kristen. So sorry for the delay in replying. Somehow your comment ended up in my spam folder and I found you there this morning (you weren’t alone either). Glad you enjoyed the snippet! Have a great weekend.

Oh dear, the crajek and razorgills, really scared me. Wearing a special kind of leather like cloth to make sure leeches don’t suck on Whitt’s ankles is another brilliant detail.
Your alternative fantasy world is dangerous and you have to be on your toes to get through it alive, Diana! I like how he doesn’t just trip and fall prey, but he crabbed backwards. Even my grandies would enjoy this frightening adventure! 🙂
Whitt joins his sister (through adoption), Catling and fellow warrior, Raker who all have fierce spirits.

Thanks, Robin. It’s hard to keep up with the blogs, isn’t it? Especially when grandchildren want some time. Thursdays are grammy days with the Overlord, so I wil be signing off soon. A fun priority. Have a wonderful day ❤

Thanks, Mike 😀 😀 Thought I’d throw out a bit of an action scene and this one is pretty fun – well, maybe not for Whitt, but for the rest of us! Hope you have a fun weekend without any leeches and crajeks 🙂

Thanks, Kathryn. Glad you enjoyed it. Whitt is a good kid and like Catling is too young to have much control. This is all part of him finding his way and claiming his power. 🙂 Stay tuned! Have a lovely weekend, my friend.

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